"That was a rage that had been bottled for a really long time," Smith said. [Source: BBC]

Will Smith has said his “bottled” rage led him to slap comedian Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars in March.

The actor has been interviewed for the first time since the incident, which he described as “a horrific night”.

Appearing on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, he said: “I was going through something that night, you know?

“Not that that justifies my behaviour at all.” Smith added that there were “many nuances and complexities to it”, but added: “I just – I lost it.”

Smith stormed the stage at the Hollywood award ceremony after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife Jada’s shaved head. She has the hair loss condition alopecia.

“I understand how shocking that was for people,” he told Noah. “I was gone. That was a rage that had been bottled for a really long time.”

He said he also understood the pain he had caused, and recalled the reaction of his nine-year-old nephew that night.

“He’s the sweetest little boy,” Smith said. “We came home and he had stayed up late to see his Uncle Will, and we’re sitting in my kitchen, and he’s on my lap and he’s holding the Oscar, and he’s just like, ‘Why did you hit that man, Uncle Will?’

The interview on the late-night US TV talk show was the first time Smith had been publicly challenged about the attack.

Smith told Noah he understood the often-quoted theory that “hurt people hurt people”.

Discussing the background to his Oscars assault, the actor said: “It was a lot of things. It was the little boy that watched his father beat up his mother, you know? All of that just bubbled up in that moment. That’s not who I want to be.”

Smith has opened up before about growing up in an abusive home. His autobiography begins with a harrowing description of his father attacking his mother – an incident he said defined his childhood, and ultimately led to his career.